I have not been on much this year...have had a summer full of family visits and a long vacation in Europe while DH was working, but came home refreshed and ready to put my heart back into my business next year. This year I had too much Neon Dianthus. I sell to a very small group of people and after about 3 weeks of a flower no one wants it again, thay want something different. So once again my problem is not to plant too much of any one thing, but to keep different varieties coming on. Spring bulb flowers start us off about the first of March, but this year most of my beautiful tulips were virused. They were beautiful Colorblends tulips so I think the virus falls out of the madrona trees that form the border between the street and my garden. I think it is just a plain garden variety of Botrytis, rather then the Dreaded "Tulip fire", and so I am cutting way back on tulips and mostly growing the viridifloras that seem more resistant. THe few others I plant will be in crates(Prefereably early tulips to force) or in sunny spots completely away from any trees! Clarkia and neon dianthus were big space wasters this year. I think about a dozen plants of white clarkia to use for fillers....another dozen neons, and more white lacy things would be a better use of space. I also have poor luck with the annual chrsanthmums "Merry maids" but could probably sell all I grow. I grow a lot of dahlias and they are my mainstay in the autumn but I need more fillers to use in their bouquets. Favorites I never get tired of are Delphinium Blue Bouquet, the cloud larkspurs, and snapdragons. I grew 3 kinds of snaps this year and will do the same with possibly a 4th kind next year. The Madame Butterflies open the season for me and give me buckets and buckets of lovely azalea type blooms in wonderful color combinations. THis year I tried "Snappy Tongues", not sure where I got them, but they have a white trumpet with bright colored crown,,,very striking! THen the wonderful Costa II'S, that have lasted, rust free, until frost. We had a cooler and greyer summer then usual here so the zinnias did not do well...but even what we had were very useful. I will move them to the sunniest spot available next year and plant lots! I need more summery foliage and fillers like dill, fennel, etc. And much as I Love Cosmos they do not sell well here at all. OH yes, I use lots of lilies, roses, and other bulb flowers and plan to plant atleast 500 butterfly glads next year. And I will be opening a stand at my home, and trying to switch my customer base to buying direct, and enticing in "Cut your own bouquet" customers. Also more advertising about subscription service (I deliver) and about doing weddings and parties.

I can't thank everyone enough for the trades - I have almost all the plants I lost last year! Of course our plight was very minor compared to many others. Family and critters are doing well and "things" can be replaced. Sorry, the water lettuce is gone for now, but I still have frogbit, duckweed, and umbrella palm. Still hoping for small pieces of zebra rush, sweet flag, gamecock iris, and dwarf bamboo. (I can dream, can't I?)

HulaGal - I'm concerned that the relatively monochromatic scheme that I'm thinking about may need contrast (as in darker cabinets) - I probably didn't make that clear earlier. The floor tile will really depend on the granite. I originally wanted travertine or travertine look, but now I'm leaning toward the limestone look of the City View - cream and gold granite with the French limestone City View (the more gold color) or the grayish River White with the beige or gray color. I like the limestone look because it is less busy, and I can't find a granite that I like that doesn't have a fair amount of movement. The cream and gold would match the rest of my house, the gray would look better with the bedroom which is BM 451 Pine forest - I really don't want to repaint the bedroom. I saw a kitchen somewhere on GW with lovely traditional cabinets - cherry paired with this awesome dark reddish kind of modern looking tile floor - my description doesn't do it justice, the floor was exactly the color of the cherry and it made everything pop. That made me want to do a dark floor, but I keep telling myself NO NATURAL LIGHT - stay with light colors. Today, I'm leaning toward the creamy granite and cream cabinets, but wewill see what we can get at the distributor, no River Wite recently, I'd have to get it shipped in. Here is a link that might be useful: Pine Forest

Well, I see the bench is gone, I agree with the poster who mentioned it looked like dual coffee tables. Plus your DH thinks he won, so how bad can that be? LOL You need more lighting, so perhaps a floor lamp behind the center corner of the sectional, or at least a lamp on the cabinet behind it. I don't like the queen anne table in here, but I believe it has since moved into the LR. The small table is kinda cool, but I would move it out away from the end of the couch a bit, so it stands as an interesting piece and will feel more important. I think your rug needs to be turned the other direction - It will flow better with the space. I would think about sliding the tv and cabinet over to the right, and you would have room for another chair there; perhaps one of the extra yellow ones from the LR? The other one could go in the corner between the kitchen and family room, where the little cabinet is in the pix, that has now gone to the LR as well. Your fireplace is cool, and if the pix is telling the true story, the right half of the fireplace sticks out further than the left. I would do some kind of paint treatment to accentuate that. Perhaps paint the right side that sticks out, above the hearth to the ceiling, in a deeper shade of the wall color. Then pull a red from the rug and do the receding part of the fireplace in that color, as well as the brick under the hearth. Paint the hearth ledge the deep brown of your couches. Try the sunburst mirror over the firebox itself. Take down the other art, and let the colors be the art. You could add a long, low rectangular planter on the right side of the fireplace, filled with sgrasses, reeds, etc. or bamboo with a layer of river rock covering the soil (if you use real plants) or the foam (if you use dried or faux.